Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Ecuador: Navy captain jailed for 10 days for criticizing President Correa in an email

Pres. Rafael Correa

Naval Captain Edwin Ortega was found guilty of "lack of discipline" and of using "improper expressions" in an email sent to Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. In an email that he thought would never reach the Commander in Chief, Captain Ortega criticized the president for lying about the reforms he is proposing to the Armed Forces' Social Security Institute. President Correa not only got the email, but pressed charges against Captain Correa who won the first instance but lost the appeal filed by Correa before the Disciplinary Committee. The Committee unanimously decided that Captain Ortega's words "damage the moral authority of the maximum authority in the Armed Forces." The news report can be found here (in Spanish).